Transfer sheets have become a popular way for consumers to individually decorate a T-shirt or other fabric clothing. Conventional transfer sheets utilize a heat-responsive transfer layer for affixing a pre-printed decal onto fabric clothing. The transfer sheets are easy to apply, as the heat necessary to transfer the decal is no greater than that produced by a common household iron. The transfer sheets also come in a wide variety of designs to suit the differing tastes of consumers.
Transfer sheets are ideal for a merchant as he can stock an extensive library of designs without investing in a large number of T-shirts. Consumers are similarly benefitted as the large variety of designs available permit a more individualized T-shirt to be created.
In addition, the conventional transfer sheets enable consumers to select the exact location on the T-shirt they wish the design to be placed. This makes the use of transfer sheets even more attractive to the consumer who desires a uniquely decorated T-shirt.
However, even with the conventional transfer sheets, truly individualized designs were not possible. Consumers wish to create and color their own designs in ways that are appealing to them but perhaps different from the designs and color combinations selected by a manufacturer. However, the conventional transfer sheets are not suitable for drawing or coloring on, as the top surface of the sheet will not receive or retain ink, crayon or other markings.
Recently, colorable transfer sheets have been introduced which can be drawn and/or colored upon by the consumer to create individualized decal designs. These colorable transfer sheets comprise a sheet with a first layer of transfer material, a second layer of resin or other material and a plurality of abrasive particles embedded within the resin. The abrasive particles thus provide a suitable surface for receiving crayon, printing or other markings by creating an abrasive surface to receive these markings.
However, these transfer sheets are expensive to produce and include some undesirable characteristics. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,980,224 to Hare best illustrates the current consumer colored transfer sheets. The transfer sheet includes a treated paper sheet with a layer of transfer material disposed thereon. Furthermore, a second layer of resin or other material is placed on top of the transfer layer and contains abrasive particles embedded therein. The transfer material, layer of abrasive particles and resin cover the entire surface of the lower sheet in this patent. This design has a major deficiency in that a separate secondary layer of material must be used to affix the abrasive particles to the transfer sheet. In addition, the Hare '224 patent utilizes sugar or sand granules as the abrasive substance, and these particles retard the adhesion process between the transfer material and the fabric.